Chapter 13
Gracie
“Are you sure you won’t come with us?” I asked Elowen. We stood at the bottom of the jet’s staircase. Banthor was leaning against the car talking to Ravik, while Thornar and Basir focused on getting us settled and ready to go.
“I promise we’ll be back on the road soon.
” She reached forward and squeezed my hand.
“I already packed up any books I felt like you needed, and I’ll work on transcribing the other information before returning the rest to the archives.
Banthor and I have a few things that we want to handle here, especially considering the turn everything took. ”
As in the Alpha of the territory refusing to even acknowledge us.
A small knot formed in my chest at the thought of them staying behind. Things hadn’t exactly gone smoothly here, and the idea of splitting up—even temporarily—sat uneasily with me.
“Alright, please stay safe,” I said, hoping they didn’t plan on doing anything dangerous, as she pulled me into a tight hug and turned on her way. She shouted something to Thornar in passing, already halfway back to the car.
My mate passed her and picked me up in a single arm scoop while carrying me up the stairs. I let out a small giggle of surprise before melting against him.
“Ready for another flight?” he asked, setting me down in one of the large leather chairs. “It won’t be a super long one, but I’m hoping you’ll get some rest in.”
I was hoping to as well. I’d thought the heaviness in my body had been due to lack of sleep, but the longer the day went on, the more off I began to feel—not just tired.
“I could use a nap,” I admitted, happily taking the blanket he offered and tucking it around me. Thornar sat beside me after a few minutes of talking to the pilot, my eyes already growing heavy as I heard something about getting ready for takeoff.
It wasn’t until we were high in the air, as I fluttered between consciousness and sleep, that I realized something was in fact wrong. My throat felt tight, and the back of my head ached. The longer I sat under the blanket, the colder I felt, even as I twisted and adjusted myself to be comfortable.
“Little flame?” Thornar’s voice was warm against my ear as I let out a sound of frustration, although it wasn’t toward him. When I felt his massive hand press against my forehead, I was surprised by the curse that left his mouth.
“What?” Ravik demanded as my eyes opened, barely, finding that both he and Basir had leaned forward, looking at me in concern.
“She has a fever.”
Thornar’s voice held a seriousness I instantly disliked, but the dizziness creeping in, paired with the cold chill, made it hard to even lift a hand to touch his face.
A fever. That…that was such an odd concept. I’d felt somewhat miserable my entire time in the Cold Moon Pack, but actually being sick? Having a fever or a sore throat, sneezing or coughing? If I had any of those, I couldn’t remember it. So why now?
“Gracie, how are you feeling?” Basir asked.
I found the strength to reach out and squeeze his hand before saying, “Exhausted, and honestly, I haven’t felt this sick in…years. I don’t remember the last time I had a fever.”
“I’m telling them to land.” Ravik’s tone brooked no argument, and I didn’t have the will to stop him. I didn’t understand why we needed to land, though.
“We can at least get her some medicine,” Thornar agreed.
“We should have thought to be prepared for this. I don’t think we have anything on the plane beyond basic first aid. Maybe some pain relievers.” Basir sounded frustrated.
“I’m sure I just need sleep,” I murmured.
“It’s probably because she’s been meeting so many people and traveling so much,” Thornar pointed out. I didn’t think they were purposefully ignoring me, but I also wasn’t sure I was speaking loud enough for them to hear me.
Basir’s rough hand brushed across my forehead and then cupped my cheek. His words were heavy. “The sooner we land, the better.”
“We’re making an emergency landing in twenty.”
That was one of the last things I heard from Ravik before darkness crept in at the edges of my vision, slow at first, then all at once—like my body had simply decided it was done.
Had sickness always come on this fast? I’d heard shifters in particular experienced it more intensely but that it also passed faster. Either way, it was horrible, and I couldn’t muster the energy to do anything but lie there, feeling pathetic.
“I’ll be back with medicine, glow.” Basir’s voice was soft in my ear before Ravik leaned down to press a kiss to the top of my head. Then they were both gone, our bond stretching farther and farther. When my body was suddenly jostled, my eyes opened to see the cabin shifting around me.
“If you can flatten those, that would be great—thanks, Stephen.” Thornar’s voice carried a quiet command, and while he was clearly speaking to the pilot or a crew member, I couldn’t focus on anything but him as he gently lowered my body onto the cool leather of the now-flat chair.
A heavier blanket settled over me as he carefully removed my shoes.
I watched him kneel beside me, his fingers slipping between mine.
Reality flickered out again, only pulling back into focus when Thornar coaxed me into drinking some water, the cool liquid easing my throat.
I tightened the blanket around me and fell right back asleep.
Unlike most of my nights, these stretches of sleep were empty.
No visions. No gods. Just a heavy, blanketed darkness.
I was almost frustrated when it was interrupted by familiar voices.
“Let’s give her the medicine when she wakes up,” Thornar suggested. “She finally got comfortable.”
“We’ve got to get that fever down—103 isn’t something we can wait on,” Basir argued. “She is shaking. Literally fucking shaking.”
Was I? My body did feel like it was uncontrollably trembling. I was just so damn cold.
“Once we’re cleared to take off, we’ll wake her up to take it. The flight is going to be a few more hours than expected because we have to detour. The weather is bad in the mountains, but she’ll have more time to rest,” Ravik explained.
“Glad we made a stop, then. Wouldn’t want to be caught in that shit,” Thornar agreed.
For a long moment, there was quiet before Basir spoke again. “Why now? I don’t like that we just left that territory. She hasn’t been sick in a decade, and now she’s come down with something.”
“I think it’s simpler than that,” Ravik said. “Gracie has been in survival mode for ten years. Now that she isn’t, her body may finally be allowing itself to be vulnerable.”
I didn’t know if there was any science behind Ravik’s theory, but it made sense. I was sure there had been times I’d been sick in the past ten years that just didn’t come to mind because I’d been too focused on avoiding Ivan and the other predators in the Cold Moon Pack.
“Still don’t fucking like it,” Thornar muttered, brushing some of my hair back. My eyes slowly managed to open, finding him looking down at me.
“Ready to take some medicine, lux mea?” Ravik asked. “We’re taking off soon.”
Nodding slowly, my brain feeling like it was bouncing around in my head, I tried to sit up. I made it to my elbows before Basir stepped in to help, Thornar handing me a bottle of water to go with the medicine Ravik offered. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken anything like it.
I swallowed the two pills quickly, trying to steady my hand enough to drink the water, before curling back up under the blanket.
“Thank you,” I whispered to the three of them.
My body gave in fully then, exhaustion hitting hard and fast. I fell into a heavy, uninterrupted sleep, knowing Ravik was right.
I was safe with them.